Several types of drive systems have been introduced to drive rotors or rotating members, such as cutter heads. The drive systems for such rotors typically include a series of pulleys and belts for rotating the rotors. Rotation may be driven by hydraulic motors or any other suitable driving systems
In some applications, direct drive mechanisms are used to operate rotor assemblies and reduce the number of power transmission elements, thereby minimizing the size of the drive systems and improving the reliability of the drive systems. However, because the direct drive systems need to be arranged adjacent the rotor assemblies to directly transfer torque to the rotor assemblies, space management and access issues can make designing such systems difficult.